Ah. It was but just three years ago around this time, VMA time, when the nation was divided: Kanye West or 50 Cent. Both were dropping albums on September 11. Fast-forward to 2010 — the hip-hop nation is once again forced to decide. This time, though, it's not about music; it's about who sends the most interesting tweets. Both 'Ye and 50 caught on to Twitter later than most people, but they have made up for it in impact. Kanye usually tweets about what's going on in his life, while 50 is unpredictable, taking a comedic stance in many instances.

Monday, the G-Unit general went on Twitter overload, writing about everything from squashing his quarrels with Diddy and Jay-Z to playing new music for Eminem and having sex with a woman he says also slept with Shaquille O'Neal.

"So I saw jayZ backstage at the show," he wrote, "so I say What's up n---a we gone kill each other or what he like And fuck up the money I aint witIt lol."

Regarding Chairman Combs, he wrote, "I talk to puffy he said n---a da sh-- you be doing is bad for business we can make a lot of money together. so that's the last puffy hit lol."

Last week in Detroit, before getting onstage with Eminem at the second of the Motor City shows in Comerica Park, Fif explained his tweet tirades.

"You know what's interesting? I look at that platform as another place to express yourself in a different way, to entertain," he said. "Not necessarily to create a perception of your actual character, but to be entertaining. When other people used it, it was boring because they were trying to be safe, be politically correct. They gave you the presentation they were taught to give you after they were prepped for publicity. What I gave you was some of the things I've seen that were entertaining topic-wise — things that made me laugh. I think it's healthy to smile. Even though I may have the persona as one of the darkest people in hip-hop culture, you seen me smile as often as — probably more often as — somebody you seen placed in that category."

Fif also cited Ice Cube as an influence — not necessarily as a muse for Twitter, but for expressing himself differently in a multiple of mediums.

"Ice Cube is one of my favorites," he said. "I admire what he's done with his life and career. But when you look at every Ice Cube CD, it's the same photo [a scowl]. He's fixin' to kill you."

"I understand, because the tone of the music matches that expression," he continued. "But, that's entertainment versus what you see him doing in 'Lottery Ticket,' doing other things to express himself in a different platform. That allows him to be successful in a different way."